printed) pamphlet, by J.A. Repton, F.S.A., on the
various forms of the beard and mustachio. The beard, like "the Roman T,"
mentioned in the following ballad, is exhibited in our cut--Fig. 1--from
a portrait of G. Raigersperg, 1649, in Mr Repton's book.

[Illustration: Beards in the Olden Time]

The stiletto-beard, as worn by Sir Edward Coke, is seen in Fig. 2. The
needle-beard was narrower and more pointed. The soldier's, or
spade-beard, Fig. 3, is from a Dutch portrait, also in Mr Repton's book.
The stubble, or close-cropped beard of a judge, requires no pictorial
illustration. The bishop's-beard, Fig. 4, is given in Randle Holme's
"Heraldry." He calls it "the broad, or cathedral-beard, because bishops,
and grave men of the church, anciently did wear such beards." "The beard
of King Harry may be seen in any portrait of Henry VIII. and the amusing
accuracy of the description tested. The clown's beard, busy and not
subject to any fashionable trimming, is sufficiently described in the
words of the song." We quote nearly the whole of this old ballad, in
fact all that has a real bearing on the subject of the beard:--

"The beard, thick or thin, on the lip or chin,
Doth dwell so near the tongue,
That her silence on the beard's defence
May do her neighbour wrong.

Now a beard is a thing that commands in a king,
Be his sceptres ne'er so fair:
Where the beard bears the sway, the people obey,
And are subject to a hair.

'Tis a princely sight, and a grave delight,
That adorns both young and old;
A well thatcht face is a comely grace,
And a shelter from the cold.

When the piercing north comes thundering forth,
Let barren face beware;
For a trick it will find, with a razor of wind,
To shave the face that's bare.

But there's many a nice and strange device,
That doth the beard disgrace;
But he that is in such a foolish sin,
Is a traitor to his face.

Now the beards there be of such a company,
And fashions such a throng,
That it is very hard to handle a beard,
Tho' it never be so long.

The Roman T, in its bravery,
Doth first itself disclose,
But so high it turns, that oft it burns
With the flames of a too red nose.

The stiletto-beard, oh! it makes me afeared,
It is so sharp beneath,
For he that doth place a dagger in 's face,
What wears he in his sheath